When we first met Jang Geun Soo (Kim Dong Hee), I could immediately tell he had feelings for Yi-Seo, but I didn't expect him to be Jang Geun Won younger half-brother. My heart, seriously, my heart couldn't take such indifference to another living being, let alone one’s own flesh and blood. What parent blames their son for being born out of wedlock; my heart broke for Geun-soo. It pained me to see him born to such incompetent parents – one uses him as a tool to gain riches and the other as a threat to dangle in front of his coward, good for nothing legitimate son.
They say every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves a child, which is true. Still, with all that, I commended Geun Soo for standing strong and making his own decisions. I find that to be his strongest suit, his ability to lead but what's even more important is how they will be able to impact him. And Sae Royi, in just one encounter, managed to impact two (Geun and Yi) lives. Now, these are relationships worth protecting.
No matter which way I look at it, Soo Ah is resolved to ruining Sae Royi, and everybody can say she's had a tough life and had to fend for herself and all, but that does not excuse what she's doing to the man who has done nothing but tries and accept her for what she is and helped her along. Soo-Ah will always do what is best for her. And that act of bringing up Geun-oon to his father acting like she didn't know he didn't know proves it to me this is not about someone who had a hard life and is just doing her best to survive; this is truly about someone who does not want to be outdone by someone she perceived to be less qualified than her. Like she said, an uneducated ex-con.
Try as I have to find an excuse for what in Soo Ah's past made her the way she is, I cannot. The fact that she was absolutely okay jeopardizing Sae Royi's opportunity at success at every turn, and he a fool giving her a pass, made me dislike him for his blindness towards her. She is not being influenced, threatened, or dragged by the hair -- she's made her choice. Sae will have to learn that the hard way.
I relished the fact that Yi-Seo doesn't try to point out Soo Ah's shortcomings to Sae; maybe it's because she knows it may backfire. I also love her direct, hold-nothing-back style, but she is also someone that appreciates being needed, and his faith in himself and trust in those working alongside him made it worth it. And more than anything, I adored the jealous Yi-Seo but more so for her ability To read a situation and act accordingly. To me, at least Yi-Seo is working towards making Sea succeed.
Let me say I disliked Geun Won's date as much as I dislike him. Her presumptuous behavior in the manner she spoke to him like he was an idea and to order for her him when she's never even met him infuriated me. He may not be smart or anyone's ideal type, but he is still a human being and deserves to be treated with respect. I pitied him for his inability to stand for himself and for bringing on his own misery, but At the same time, I think if his father ever loved him the way he deserved to be loved as a child, he might not have ended up the person he became. Parenting is a lifelong job and doesn't stop when a child grows up because if their child ever hates a parent, they never were a parent to them.